Whatever's Next
by Norinco
Summary: Jack returns to the Valley from Vietnam. After his time as a POW will he be able to move on and love the girl from the picture or do the horrors of war never leave a man.
1. The Girl in the Picture

**So, this is my first Harvest Moon fic. I normally write HP fan fiction but lately been suffering from writer's block, as such I'm going to try to write for another one of my favorite fandoms, Harvest Moon! Also, this is based around A Wonderful Life: Special Edition rather than A Wonderful Life to make use of Lumina's older age.**

**Disclaimer: I'll only say this once; I don't own any rights to Harvest Moon whatsoever, anyone who thinks I do needs to get their head examined.**

March 12, 1975. Forget-Me-Not-Valley

"So did you hear about the new farmer?" Lumina asked Celia as they sat by the Goddess Pond.

Celia was intrigued, up until now she hadn't heard a word about a new farmer, but after thinking about it for a moment she realized it had been several months since the old farmer had passed. In her opinion it was about time a new owner took over the place.

"No, I haven't heard anything about a new farmer. Do you know anything more than that the land was sold?" Celia asked knowing full well the Lumina would know, her grandmother always knew what was going on and passed whatever knowledge she had onto Lumina.

Lumina grinned a sneaky little grin before responding, "Oh, the land wasn't sold, the old man's son is taking it over,"

"What? He had a son? How old is he? Why hasn't he ever come here?" Celia asked stumbling over each word.

"Hold it for a second Celia, I'll answer every question to the best of my abilities," Lumina said smirking, "First, yes, Nick had a son named Jack. Second, He's twenty four, a little more than a year older than you. And for you last question, he's been here before but not since you moved here. When I was eleven and he was seventeen he left to join the military,"

"Okay, now why didn't he come back after getting discharged?" Celia asked wanting to know more about this mysterious Jack.

Lumina looked a little more somber at this question, "He got shot in Vietnam, he came back for about a week after that but felt useless on the farm, so he left once again saying he'd find work somewhere. I don't know what he did after that,"

Celia thought about everything for a minute and didn't know what to make out of it all. She wanted to know more about him but didn't want to get it from a second hand source.

"I've got to go Celia; auntie Romana wants me to practice the piano before dinner," Lumina stood up from where she was sitting and began to walk down the path towards town.

"Wait! One more question, do you remember anything about him?" Celia asked hopefully.

Lumina couldn't help but smile at her friend, "Sorry Celia but I don't, I came to live with auntie about a month before he left and he was always working on the farm, never had time for anything else,"

As Lumina walked off she thought to herself, _If this s what Celia is like before she even meets him what will happen if she does fall for him? _

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Celia finished setting the table for dinner before sitting down with Marlin and Vesta, they were having a simple fish dish but Celia wasn't very focused on that. Celia's mind was still on the new farmer and what he would be like.

Vesta noticed that Celia was just moving her food around her plate with her fork and decided to figure out what was on her mind without directly asking. Vesta could only think of one piece of big news in the valley and decided to go with that first.

"So Celia, have you heard about the new farmer?" Vesta asked innocently enough.

Celia couldn't help but blush a little before responding, "Yeah, Lumina told me a little about him today,"

Marlin choked on his drink when he heard this, "What! Nobody told ME about a new farmer!"

Vesta chuckled a little, "That's 'cause he isn't really a "new" farmer. Do you remember Nick's son Jack Marlin?" Marlin nodded, "Well, that's our farmer,"

Marlin groaned and started to complain, "Not him, I remember when he left and was going to be some big war hero,"

Celia started to listen to the conversation intently when she deduced that both Vesta and Marlin remembered Jack.

Vesta looked at her brother with shock, "You idolized him before and when he joined up. You tried to follow his footsteps and tried to join the Army. You're just upset that when he got back from the war all the girls from here and Mineral Town wanted to see him and not you,"

Marlin looked angry for a second but looked defeated and sighed, "You know they wouldn't take me because of my flat feet,"

Celia seemed to ignore what Marlin has just said and spoke to Vesta, "Did he ever date when he lived here?"

Vesta then realized the Celia wanted to meet this boy and perhaps have a relationship with him so she told her what she remembered about him, "No, I don't recall him dating; before he left he was so focused on his work that he never had the time and the week he was back after his injury he spent holed up at the farm. Now that I think about it he left for the second time right before you moved here,"

Vesta could see Celia relax at this information, "That's good," Celia said under her breath.

"So I wonder if he still hunts. I really miss the meat," Marlin pondered out loud.

"Yes, I imagine he still does. Remember the game feeds Nick and Jack used to have? All the different dishes, though to be honest I don't miss any of the more "exotic" meats," Vesta said wandering down memory lane.

Celia realized the Vesta and Marlin remembered more about this mysterious Jack than they let on. She knew she could probe them for a little more information on him before he arrived in the valley.

"What do you mean by "exotic" meats Vesta?" Celia asked honestly wondering what Vesta could possibly mean by that.

Vesta couldn't help but laugh at this, "Of course you wouldn't remember, you didn't live hear back then. They often had things like opossum or raccoon at their feeds. Nick and Jack were big into hunting; Nick went out almost every day after finishing all the farm work. Jack went out a lot too; he'd do his farm chores in the morning before school so he could go out when he got back,"

"Wait. Where do the valley children go to school?" Celia asked Vesta. Celia had never thought about the education of young children before.

Once again Vesta laughed having forgotten her houseguest wasn't from the valley or any of the towns around it.

"You know where Harmonica Town is right?" Celia nodded, "That's where the school is, it's where both Marlin and I graduated. You probably haven't heard much about it because Lumina was homeschooled by her grandmother," Vesta finished explaining.

"Do you have any stories about Jack…or Nick?" Celia asked trying to hide her interest in the boy.

"I remember one occurrence you might find interesting, first you have to understand that Jack and Gustafa never really got along, they're the same age and polar opposites. Gustafa is a peace loving hippie and Jack was and maybe still is a warrior at heart, just like his father. But one day shortly before Jack joined the army. Nick and Jack were sitting in the Blue Bar talking with Griffin when Gustafa came in and started complaining about the U.S.A.'s involvement in Vietnam, Jack was about to argue when he stopped and asked Griffin if he could borrow a guitar. He just started to strum the guitar, he played for about five minutes before saying "Music brings people together, well, they ain't got music out in Vietnam right now, it's our job to bring the music back," Gustafa had nothing to say to that and just walked out. That was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen," Vesta told this story with a smile, remembering all the antics the town's favorite teen used to be involved in.

"Wait. You said Nick and Jack were warriors at heart. What do you mean by that?" Celia asked trying to figure out the latest twist the father and son.

"You wouldn't know this but Nick and Takakura met during World War Two, after the war ended they moved here to start a farm. Nick was an Army Ranger while Takakura was in the Navy, according to the story they used to tell they met on a transport ship while Nick was on his way overseas, they agreed if they survived the war they would meet up again," Vesta looked very pensive while telling this story, "Nick truly loved serving his country during an important time of need. Jack got into a fight or two while in school, he hated to see the bigger kids pick on the smaller ones and always made sure to put a stop to it,"

"I guess I really never thought about Nick having that much to do with history of the valley," Celia thought out loud.

"Well, let's finish up dinner and head to bed, we've got a big day tomorrow, what with planting, watering, and throwing a welcome party for a new neighbor," Vesta said loving the look of shock on Celia's face.

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March 13, 1975. Forget-Me-Not-Valley

_Dear Diary,_

_ Today is the day the new farmer is supposed to get here and I don't whether I'm excited, nervous, or a mixture of both. So far since I've lived here nothing has really changed. It's been the same day in and day out, and in the winter when it's cold and there's nothing to plant time passes really slowly. Oh well, it's off to work I suppose; I want to get everything done so I can clean up for the welcome party tonight._

_ Celia,_

Celia, Marlin, and Vesta were all out tending to the crops in the field. Vesta wanted the work done as early as possible so she could make something for the party that would be later. Celia couldn't help but agree, she wanted to make sure she got a chance to shower and change before going.

Suddenly, from the path that leads to Mineral Town and beyond Celia heard the low rumbling noise.

"Must be Jack, he always had a love of vehicles, I would have been surprised if he didn't have one," Vesta said to Celia

Celia suddenly became worried about her appearance but knew she couldn't go and do anything about it now, not if she wanted to be one of the first to see him anyway.

Around the corner of the path and truck came around, a little Ford F-Series, and started down the hill, from where she was standing she could barely make out two occupants, a man and a dog. The truck continued down the hill when suddenly it stopped making noise and just started coasting. Celia was still standing in the field with Vesta and Marlin and could see the truck stop in front of the house.

Celia was suddenly worried that Jack would knock on the door, find no one was home, and move on to his next stop. Her worries proved uncalled for when Vesta shouted.

"Hey Jack! Over here!" Vesta shouted at the man who turned around and jumped the fence into the field at a sprint.

As Jack stopped right by Celia got a good look at him. He wasn't particularly tall, just taller than Marlin. He had dark brown hair that was fairly long; on top of his head was a backwards ball cap. He was wearing a white t-shirt with OD green fatigue pants, on his left hip was a fixed blade knife, and on his right was a closed top holster containing a gun. Celia didn't know what to think, she had only seen one other person carrying a gun in the valley and surrounding villages and that was Harris, the police officer in Mineral Town.

"Vesta, it's good to see you again," Jack said with a smile, "Marlin, you haven't changed a bit,"

Then Jack turned to Celia, smiled wider and held out his hand to shake, "And you must be Celia,"

Celia's expression went from shock to joy in a few seconds, "How do you know me?" She asked.

"Simple, my dad never mentioned this before his passing, but about a month after I left here the second time they put me back on active duty in Vietnam, when I wrote my dad and told him he was quite saddened. He knew I had almost lost my will to live because of what I saw in 'Nam, so he sent me a letter telling me about the girl who had just moved here" Jack than took his wallet out and removed a picture, "He also sent me this, a picture of the girl who had just moved here that he took at her welcoming party, on the back he wrote her name and age,"

Jack had been watching Celia's reaction to this story, gauging if he should finish the story. Celia's facial expression remained shocked for most of the story. Vesta was thinking the Celia may have a boyfriend soon, and Marlin was pissed that Jack came back and was making another girl fall for him.

"Two days before I was supposed to be discharged for good, I was captured by the VC; they took all my equipment from me, all they let me keep was my fatigues and my helmet," Jack said, deciding he would finish his story no matter what Celia might think, "Hidden in the lining of my helmet was the picture of you Celia, all that kept my alive in the POW camp was the thought of seeing you someday. One day I knew it was either do or die, what little Vietnamese I knew gave me the indication that they were going to execute me the next day. That night I managed to overpower the one guarding me and escape, I worked my way to Saigon and was brought back to the states,"

"Oh Jack," Celia said tears starting to form.

"That's a boy Jackie, I always knew you were a fighter," Vesta said proud of the boy who grew up with her brother.

"Thanks Vesta," Jack said with a chuckle, "but to be serious for a moment, Celia, would you like to go on a date sometime?"

Celia perked right up after hearing this, the tears that threatened to fall no longer were tears of sorrow, but of happiness.

"Yes Jack, I would like to very much," Celia told him with a smile.

**So Jack is a Vet and former POW. How will factor into their relationship? Will Jack's one track mind get the best of him? What about the farm? Tune in next time for some answers and possibly more questions.**


	2. They Kill Us For Sport

**Chapter Two is here. **

March 14th, 1975, Forget-Me-Not-Valley

_1975073_

_I don't know why I'm writing in this stupid thing…Scratch that, yes I do. I'm doing it because that stupid psychologist told me to. Told me it would help me come to terms with my experience in the POW camp, advice from the same man who "helped" (and I use that term loosely) me "remove myself from my actions". He wants me to write down my feelings, thoughts, actions, and emotions almost every day, if not every day._

_Good news I suppose, I didn't have a nightmare about the camp last night, its first night in a while I haven't had one. In truth I'm not sure if it's just being on the old homestead or being near Celia._

_Speaking of Celia, she was everything dad told me and more. Asking her out was the hardest thing I've ever done. It almost makes me miss 'Nam. Back there everything was certain, it was kill or be killed and I was always the killer. With Celia, she was half the equation. Her emotions meant just as much, or more, as me asking her._

_Signed,_

_Phoenix,_

_Damn, I've got to stop doing that._

_Signed,_

_Jack Logan_

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_March 14__th__, 1975,_

_Dear Diary,_

_ Jack asked me out! It was actually kind of weird, I had barely known him ten minutes when he did. Of course he had his own reasons for asking me. I want to get to know him better and I also want him to think of me as something more than a girl in a picture, I want him to know the real me._

_ Maybe this will go somewhere, maybe it won't. I just don't want to be alone anymore, but I'd rather be alone than with any of the guys here in the valley. Gustafa is a hippie who I don't really see having a future. Griffin is a little on the old side and not much of a talker. Rock is a moron. And Marlin thinks he's the Goddess's gift to women, but is being chivalrous by only wanting me. It's creepy to be honest; I don't think he knows that I notice the looks he gives me._

_Oh well, I'm don e venting for now. I've got to get work done today so I can what Jack is up to._

_Celia,_

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As Jack stepped out of his house in the morning he could tell it was going to be a beautiful day. He felt as if he was where he belonged once more. He looked around the farm and could see no signs of life, except for his dog Aiko, who was sleeping half outside of the doghouse. Most importantly, Jack felt his father's presence even though he wasn't there. Jack knew that every building was hand built by his father. Jack knew he couldn't replace him, but Jack just wanted to be home.

"Hiya Takakura," Jack said fairly loud when he saw his father's friend leaving his own house.

"Hello Jack, it's been a long time," Takakura said, "I was beginning to think I wouldn't see you again before I pass,"

"You've got years until that happens," Jack said trying to hide his sadness at how far his father's friend had fallen since he was a kid.

"Enough about that, what are your plans for the farm Jack?" Takakura asked

"I want to grow some crops first, and then move up into some animals," Jack said brightening up the talk of the farm.

"Well, then you'll need this," Takakura said before tossing Jack several packets of seeds rubber banded together, "Tools and in the shed where they've always been, now get to work,"

"Will do!" Jack shouted running off the tool shed to get what he needed. He knew it would be a long day but he needed to make money somehow. He wasn't just back here for a week or two anymore, the valley was once again his home and he would do anything to keep his life here.

Jack walked to his truck with his hoe and water can in hand, his lunch and his seeds in his rucksack, he was ready to work.

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Celia work up ready to work, she loved working on Vesta's farm. It not only gave her a sense of purpose but leaving the city improved her health greatly. Celia had always been frail growing up but moving out to the country seemed to help her immensely.

Walking down stairs Celia heard the clattering of plates and silverware.

"What's for breakfast Vesta?" Celia asked hearing her stomach growl.

"Just some scrambled eggs and toast," Vesta said scooping eggs onto Marlin's plate.

Celia just nodded and got herself a plate and silverware. She never knew how long it would be between meals so she always found it worth it to eat a hearty breakfast.

"What's the plan for today?" Celia asked Vesta wanting to get a time frame to see Jack.

"Marlin has to fix the vents on the greenhouse and you and I have to water the fields, we should be done before noon," Vesta said instinctively knowing why she asked.

"That sounds like a plan," Celia said with a smile before turning her full attention to her breakfast

_I wonder what Jack's doing today; I imagine he can't have too much to do today. He is just starting out so I imagine it's just some planting. Oh well, hopefully I'll see him later. _Celia thought while eating.

"When you're done meet me outside and we can get started," Vesta told Celia while walking out the door.

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"Well, that didn't take too long, " Vesta said smiling, "You're free to do whatever you want now Celia,"

"Thanks Vesta!" Celia shouted before heading off towards Jack's farm."

It took Celia about half an hour to get there and when she did Jack was nowhere to be seen. She decided to check and see if Takakura knew where he was.

"Takakura, I'm sorry to bother you, but do you know where Jack is?" Celia said after knocking on his door.

Takakura's normally stern expression softened immediately, "He's out in the fields last I checked, just follow the path behind the garage and you'll find him sooner or later,"

"Thank you sir," Celia said happy to know where to go.

Celia followed the directions and went by the garage and followed the path, it wasn't hard to follow it was more or less a straight line through the forest leading to a clearing.

_At least I now know why I never saw Nick's crops, _Celia thought reaching the clearing. Once there she saw Jack sitting on the tailgate of his truck eating lunch.

"Jack!" Celia shouted while waving him down.

Jack attempted to respond but settled for waving sense he had a mouth full of food.

"How are you?" Jack said after swallowing his bite of sandwich.

"I'm good. Yourself?" Celia responded trying not to seem too eager.

"I'm vertical in a horizontal world," Jack replied standing up from the tailgate. Jack than put the rest of his tools in the bed of his truck and closed the tailgate.

"Are you doing anything tonight Celia?" Jack asked nervously.

Celia smiled at him before responding, "No, I've got nothing planned. Did you have something in mind?"

"Well, when I was passing through Mineral Town the other day an old friend stopped me and decided to throw me a welcome back party held at the Inner Inn. I figured you might want to come along," Jack explained to Celia.

"I think that would be fun," Celia said with a smile

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Jack and Celia talked through most of the drive to Mineral Town. Jack mostly listened to Celia's tales of the valley from the time he was gone. It was starting to get dark by the time they got to Mineral Town.

"Here we are," Jack said parking the truck in the grass next to the inn.

"This will certainly be interesting for you. It's been a long time since you've seen a lot of these people," Celia said sensing that Jack was slightly nervous.

Jack just nodded at pushed open the doors, letting the smell of food and the bright light hit him and Celia in the face.

"Jack!" Ann shouted throwing herself at him in a hug.

"It's good to see you too Ann," Jack said stumbling to finish the sentence.

"Well have a seat; you need to catch up with everyone," Ann started, "Who's this with you?" Ann asked just noticing Celia

"I'm surprised you don't recognize Celia, she lives in the valley," Jack replied with a chuckle.

"Can't say I do, well no matter, both of you sit down so we can catch up," Ann said leading them to a table.

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It seemed as if all of Mineral Town had come to the inn to see Jack. At the moment Jack and Celia were listening to Duke and Doug argue about a poker game they had played a few nights ago. Suddenly Doug began to cough.

"Anybody got a smoke?" Doug said between coughs knowing full well that he was the only one in town who smoked.

"Here you go Doug," Jack said holding out a pack of Luckies to the older man.

"Jack! Don't tell me you started smoking!" Ann shouted at him.

"She's right Jack, smoking is terrible to your health, something that you need to protect as a farmer," Doctor Trent said quite concerned for the young farmer.

"Relax everybody, I don't smoke, I just took to carrying a pack with me where ever I go," Jack said with a laugh.

Now Celia was interested. It was clear to her that Jack never did anything without reason; she was hoping he would explain the reason behind this.

"Now why would you carrying cigarettes if you don't smoke?" Elli, the town nurse asked Jack before Celia could.

"I have something in the truck that will help me explain, I'll be right back," Jack said getting out of his seat and walking towards the door.

"I wonder how he can justify this?" Celia asked out loud to nobody in particular.

"Trust me when I say this Celia, he will find a way," Ann said with a laugh, "But before he comes back, what's the nature of your relationship with him?"

At this question Celia turned bright red; she needed to think of an answer and quick.

"I don't really know. I know I like him a lot and I want there to be something between us, but it ultimately falls on how he feels," Celia managed to get out just before Jack walked in the door.

"Here is what will help me explain," Jack said placing a rifle on the table.

"Okay, but what does this have to do with anything?" Ann asked him.

"Look at the stock," Jack told everybody, "Do you see the names carved into it?"

Everybody was intrigued now; they all leaned in to get a closer look. From where she was sitting Celia could see all the names. It said:

_Falcon_

_Ice_

_Wrath_

_Bloodhound_

_Merlin_

_Jet_

_Phoenix_

_All but Phoenix are crossed out_

"Why are these words carved into the wood? And why are all but the last one crossed out?" Celia asked, these were the questions on each and every persons' mind at the moment.

"They're names, kind of. You see, the unit I was a part of during my first tour of duty had a tradition that every rifle was passed down to the person who was there when the previous owner died," Jack started to look somber, "When you get the rifle you carved your codename into the stock you're your KA-BAR. When you die whoever it gets passed to takes your KA-BAR and crosses your name out. I'm the last man on the list for this rifle. When Jet was shot his final request was for a cigarette, because I didn't smoke I never carried any on me. Jet never got his final request granted and I always carried a pack of Luckies afterward incase another soldier needed some,"

As Jack was explaining this everybody had a different reaction. Doug was starting to really appreciate the cigarette he was smoking. Ann was amazed that her old friend had experienced so much death. Doctor Trent was regretting that he didn't join up; he might have been able to save lives as a doctor. But Celia's reaction to the story was by far the most unexpected, she started to cry.

Nobody could figure out why Celia was shedding tears over this but it seemed so simple to her. For Celia this story was so sad because by being the next name of the rifle, she felt the Jack was marked for death.

What was even more shocking the Celia crying was Jack's reaction to Celia crying. All he did was put his arms around her a pull her in for a hug. He didn't say a word; just let her put her head on his shoulder and cry.

"Thank you for the lovely welcome home party everyone, but I think we should be going," Jack said with an apologetic smile.

"See you two around. Bye Jack, Bye Celia," Ann shouted as they walked out of the inn towards the truck. She couldn't help but smile as she saw Jack with one arm around Celia and the other holding the old rifle.

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	3. Answering the Call of Duty

**Chapter 3, I probably should have said this earlier but because of how little personality is presented in the games many characters may be different than they are normally portrayed. Sorry for the messed up formatting in earlier chapters, I didn't expect what happened with the lines. Also thank you to **_**The Altrox**___**for their review it made me realize I had to clear up a few things that only previously only made sense to me. I also would like to point out a mistake I made, In Chapter 2 I could the Mineral Town in the Inner Inn which is incorrect.**

March 15th, 1975, Forget-Me-Not-Valley

_1975074_

_ Here I am writing again. I told everyone about the rifle last night. Celia's reaction made me want to break down. I hate to see her crying. Her smile is one of her best traits, and while she still is beautiful while she is crying it just seems wrong._

_ The farm is doing well, I got some crops planted yesterday and hopefully they'll grow soon. Hopefully I can make a living off of this (though I could fall back on mining, fishing, or woodcutting)._

_ Nightmares are staying away for the most part, I feel like I'm going crazy though. Is this how dad felt after he got back from the war? Is this normal? They didn't tell me much during my debriefing. Speaking of which that debriefing was a joke, more like an interrogation. They wanted to know if I had told government secrets while being tortured. They couldn't break me in the camp and I'm proud of it. The training worked, no matter how much pain they inflicted I endured._

_ Maybe my training had less to do with it then I would like to think though, maybe emotions played a part in it, just wanting to return home._

_ No, emotions have no place in war, they only cloud decision making. The ethical choice isn't always the way to survive, I learned the first hand._

_ Signed,_

_ Jack "Phoenix" Logan_

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_March 15__th__, 1975_

_Dear Diary,_

_ I made such a fool of myself last night! I broke down crying, and I started to cry on Jack too! I don't know if I'll be able to face him again. I honestly don't know if I'll stop by his farm today. We'll see, maybe Vesta will have a lot of work to do today._

_ No, I can't give up hope because of one incident. I still feel the same about him and he (hopefully) still feels the same way about me._

_ Ugh! I'm too frustrated to write right now._

_ Signed, _

_ Celia_

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Weeks went by and if you asked Jack he'd say life couldn't be better. His crops were growing well and he was sure he was falling in love.

Love, Jack often laughed at himself when he thought about it. It was such a foreign concept to him. His mom died when he was two and his father never quite got over her death. Nick's way of dealing with death was to work harder. As Jack looked back on it he realized he was basically raised in the fields. He could never say he wasn't loved, it just wasn't something that was expressed. Nick never opened up after his wife's death, Jack didn't know anything else than working to survive until he went to school.

At school Jack met Ann, a girl from Mineral Town who'd also lost her mother when she was young. Jack and Ann were about the same age and completely different. Jack was near emotionless, quiet, and a hard worker. Ann was bubbly, always talking, and somewhat of a slacker. Against all odds these two became best friends. For once Jack had someone who might have actually loved him.

This changed when Jack turned seventeen and the war was going on. He volunteered as soon as he could. The few times Jack had seen his father get emotional were when he was talking about the war. Jack felt it was his duty to sign up.

Now Jack was out of the Marines and experiencing so many new emotions. He could hesitate now, he realized afterward that he might have been a little quick in telling Celia about the picture but he felt that it couldn't wait. In his mind he had been waiting to see the girl for years even if she didn't know he existed.

Jack felt as if his life was returning to normal. He was no longer Lance Corporal Jack Logan, he was just Jack Logan. He loved life and felt things were only going to get better.

How wrong he was….

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April 13th, 1975, Forget-Me-Not-Valley

Today was the first time Jack was having Celia over for dinner. They had gone on numerous "dates" before, but most were just picnics around Goddess Pond or dinner at the Blue Bar. Jack had finally cleaned up the old farmhouse enough that he felt comfortable having Celia over.

Currently Jack was in the kitchen cooking while Celia was sitting at the table watching him cook at talking to him.

"Who's that in that picture?" Celia asked looking at the picture on Jack's counter.

Jack had to lean over the counter to get a look at which picture she was talking about.

"Oh, that's my mom and dad when they first moved to the valley, the building they're standing in front of is the original farmhouse," Jack said pointing at the each thing in turn.

"What were your parents like?" Celia inquired never before wondering about Jack's mother.

"I never really knew my dad as a person. He was more like a mentor to me. He taught me everything I needed to know to survive in this world. I know he loved me but he could never express it. My mom died when I was two and I don't think dad could ever look at me without being reminded of her," Jack replied quite sadly.

"I'm so sorry Jack, I didn't know," Celia said suddenly feeling foolish.

Jack just smiled and laughed, "You have every right to wonder. Don't feel bad, the dead are never truly gone, the live on in our hearts forever,"

Celia couldn't help but smile as Jack turned back to the stove and started putting food on plates. She wondered what he had made. When they went on picnics it was always sandwiches or something similar.

"Here you go," Jack said placing a plate in front of her. On the plate was risotto.

"Looks great," Celia said honestly, risotto being one of her favorite foods.

Jack just nodded his thanks as he dug into his plate of food. The pair ate in relative silence. Celia learned early on that Jack wasn't a big talker while he was eating so she didn't force conversation.

After a few minutes they were finished and Jack stood up from the table.

"I've got a little treat for you," Jack said with a smile before opening the fridge and pulling out a cake.

Seeing this Celia could hardly contain her excitement, cake was her favorite thing in the world, nobody else quite understood why. Celia didn't even understand why. Jack quickly cut the cake and handed Celia a piece which she devoured.

"Would you like to watch some TV?" Jack asked pointing the set in sitting on the edge of the counter.

"That sounds fun," Celia responded

Jack turned on the TV and found a channel that came through, it was about a cat and a private detective but Jack wasn't paying much attention to the show, he was paying more attention to Celia's smile and listening to her laugh at the show.

About halfway through the program Jack got up to go to the bathroom. While Jack was in there he heard his phone ring.

"I've got it!" Celia shouted so Jack could hear her.

"Logan residence," Celia said into the phone, "May I ask who's calling?" Jack walked out of the bathroom just in time to see Celia's face drop from the man on the phones response.

"Who is it Celia?" Jack asked suddenly worried.

"He called himself Lieutenant Twigger, he wants to talk to you," Celia responded handing Jack the phone.

"Lieutenant, why the surprise call sir?" Jack asked his superior.

Celia could see Jack's facial expression change as the man on the phone talked.

"What's my TOD sir?" Jack asked his face becoming emotionless as the man talked, "Twenty-one hundred hours, I will be there sir, over and out," Jack hung up the phone before sitting down.

"What's wrong Jack? What did he want?" Celia asked worried about Jack.

"I'm sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, but could you watch Aiko for a while?" Jack asked avoiding her questions.

"Only if you answer me Jack!" Celia shouted at him while crying.

"I have to go back overseas," Jack said trying to calm her down,"They're having a few issues in South Vietnam and they just want so additional personnel off shore in case of emergency. If all goes well I won't see any combat,"

Celia was still crying and just pulled Jack into a hug. She didn't want him to leave, she was afraid. She had finally found a man she wanted to be in her life and now he had to leave. The past few weeks had been the best of her life and she didn't want to give them up.

"Promise me you'll come back," Celia managed to say through the tears.

"I'll come back to you no matter what," Jack said pulling her closer and tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

**So Jack has been called back into the service once again. What will this tour entail? Will Jack be able to keep his promise? What's going on in South Vietnam.**


	4. Semper Fidelis

**Sorry for the delay, I'm still working on getting a beta plus my brother had an incident while trying to learn how to drive a motorcycle….on my bike.**

April 14th, 1975, Forget-Me-Not-Valley,

5 A.M.

Entirely too early as far as Jack was concerned.

Jack stood outside Vesta's farm with Aiko at one side and Celia at the other.

"I'll be back," Jack said at the sound of Celia's crying. The problem was that he didn't know if he was trying to reassure himself or her.

"And I'll be waiting," Celia said giving him a hug,

Jack held her tightly, not wanting to let go but knowing he had to.

"Be a good girl Aiko, listen to Celia and don't cause trouble," Jack said to his dog, tears silently falling as he patted her on the head.

Jack looked at his farm in the distance and then at Celia. He was leaving his life behind once again, though this time he had built the life for himself.

"I'll be gone a month at the most, take care of yourself Celia," Jack said getting into his truck and starting it, "I'll see you soon,"

Jack started to drive up the hill that would take him away from the valley one again. In his rear view he could see Aiko sitting next to Celia who was waving sadly at him. Jack felt tears run down his face, he was finally starting to show his emotions and now he had to go back to the way he had been.

"I love you," Celia whispered waving at Jack; she felt no shame in saying it even if he couldn't hear her. She just needed to say it to make herself feel better. Aiko barked once and started to paw at the door to the house. Celia opened the door and went back to bed, Aiko next to her, she just wanted to sleep until Jack came back.

_**JLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCM**_

__Jack drove until he hit Mineral Town; he parked his truck by the Inn before knocking on the door. His first knock went unanswered so he kept pounding on the door.

Suddenly the door flew open, revealing a very angry Ann in a night gown. "What do you want? Can't you see we're closed?"

"Good morning to you too beautiful," Jack responded half sarcastic, "I just wanted to say goodbye and give you these," He held out his keys to the red head.

"You're leaving us again Jack," Ann said sadly.

"Unfortunately yes, I got called back into active duty. I want to leave my truck here in case something happens and I don't make it back," Jack said to her.

"Don't be a moron Jack, of course you'll make it back," Ann said trying to cheer her best friend up.

Ann watched Jack's face, looking for any signs of regret, of sadness, of loss, and she found none.

"If I make it back, I make it back, if I don't, I don't. It's that simple. Take these though," Jack said this handing her a stack of letters, "I wrote a bunch of letters last night, if I don't make it back please deliver them. I don't have time to say goodbye to everybody this time,"

Ann took the letters silently before Jack began to walk towards the dock. She wanted to cry, Jack was leaving again, his youthful optimism gone. Unlike the first time he left Jack knew full well that he could die, he wasn't superman. He was just Jack Logan.

"Come home Jack," Ann said as he walked out of her sight.

_**JLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCM**_

It was now four in the afternoon and Jack was tired. He had to take three different boats to get here but he final made it to the army base. He looked up at the administration building and found it hard to believe he once volunteered to become part of this.

Walking into the building Jack saw many people, some were soldier seeing their families for the first time in a while. Some were parents watching their child volunteer to live a life of hell. And some were just the staff on base, looking completely indifferent, like nothing here mattered to them.

"Lance Corporal Jack Logan reporting for duty," Jack told the receptionist.

She did a quick scan of the book in front of her before responding, "Hello sir, you are to report to the briefing center for your assignment,"

Jack nodded his thanks and continued to the briefing center. That last time he had been near an army base was during his debriefing. Based on his experiences there he wasn't exactly thrilled to be back.

It took Jack about ten minutes to find the center, inside were three more Marines dressed in uniform and a corporal standing in front of them.

"You must be Jack," The corporal boomed, "I'm Mark Harris and these will be the members of your fireteam. Joel Baker rifleman, Charlie Williams automatic rifleman, and Sam Singer assistant automatic rifleman," He motioned to each man in turn.

"I'm Jack Logan, I'm your team leader," Jack said using his authority voice, "Corporal, what is our assignment?"

"I like a man who cuts out the bullshit, gets right the point," the Corporal said, "You four will be part of Operation: Frequent Wind. You will be placed aboard the USS Hancock. You may not even see combat as part of this assignment. You are part of the auxiliary forces that may be called upon in case of emergency. Now move out, you leave in T-minus two hundred hours,"

"Yes sir!" The entire fireteam shouted before saluting and walking out towards the quartermaster to receive their load out.

_**JLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCM**_

Celia usually loved life on Vesta's farm, but today was different. She normally liked the mindless work that allowed her to take in the world around her or just to think. Today was different; she didn't want her mind to wander to what might happen.

Celia knew Jack wouldn't want her to worry about him but she couldn't help it. In the past month he had so deeply ingrained himself in her life she almost forgot what life was like without him. Now she wouldn't be able to go to his farm after work and talk with him.

"Celia, take the rest of the day off of work. Go see Lumina or go far a walk, just get your mind off of Jack," Vesta said being both stern and kind at the same time.

"Yes Vesta," Celia responded not wanting to argue with the older women. Sometimes Celia wondered about how Vesta knew so much about her feelings.

Celia walked off the farm and up the road to the mansion where she knew she'd find Lumina. Arriving at the mansion she could hear the graceful sound of the piano even from outside. She opened the door to find Lumina playing the piano, Romana nodding her head in approval, and the butler Sebastian dusting the ornate furniture.

Celia was always amazed by how graceful Lumina could be while playing the piano. Today was no different; the way Lumina moved with the music was beautiful to her. She seemed so calm and relaxed while playing. It was if she'd been playing her whole life.

After several minutes of this Lumina stopped at stood up, "I'm calling it a day Auntie Romana, I'll play some more tomorrow,"

Romana looked slightly upset, but then she noticed that Celia was there. She wondered how she had missed the girl before but didn't want to come to the obvious conclusion, she was getting old.

"Hey Lumina, how are you doing?" Celia asked trying to stir up a conversation.

"I'm well. But the more important question is how are you doing?" Lumina asked trying to steer the conversation towards Jack, hoping that Celia would open up to her.

"As Jack would say, I'm vertical in a horizontal world," Celia said cracking a small smile.

Lumina couldn't help but smile at hearing one of Jack's favorite expressions, "What does that mean anyway? I never understood what he was getting at,"

"As far as I can tell it means "I'm alive in a world that wants me dead,". That was always the way he seemed to say it," Celia said thinking back on all the times she heard his description of how he was doing.

"Seriously though, how are you doing? I imagine it's kind of rough without him," Lumina asked turning serious once more.

"It is, I never realized how big of my life he'd become. I'm worried about him and it doesn't help that he always talked about his own mortality and how that guided his actions. Now he's back in the war and I don't know what will happen to him," Celia started, "I miss him so much, I just want him to come back safe and sound,"

"Do you know what the Marines' motto is Celia?" Lumina asked working on a way to cheer the other girl up.

Celia shook he head no. She personally was never interested in the military and Jack never really talked about military life.

"It's _Semper Fidelis_, Latin for "Always Loyal"; you know he'll do everything in his power to come back to you. He's loyal to his country, to this valley, and most of all to you," Lumina said using her little knowledge of the Marines and Latin.

"Thanks Lumina, you're really a huge help," Celia said before the two girls moved onto less exciting topics, mostly the happenings in the village.

_**JLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCM**_

April 25, 1975, _USS Hancock_, somewhere near Vietnam

"Men, the forty of us are about to embark on a highly important mission. Your job is to project the embassy in Saigon and help evacuate by helicopter if needed," Major Kean started, "You will be flown in to Saigon via Air America. You will be wearing civilian clothing and only carrying concealed handguns. From there you will go to the DAO compound where each fireteam will receive one semiautomatic M14, one M16, one BAR, and one M3 Grease Gun. Any questions?"

Up until this point Jack had been only half paying attention, but at the first and only question asked he started to put his full attention on the subject.

"Will we be issued flak jackets?" A voice in the crowed asked.

"Unfortunately we will not be issued flak jackets," the Major responded to chorus of groans.

Jack was not all that happy at this discovery; his flak jacket had probably saved his life multiple times during his first and second tours. Its ability to stop small fragments of grenade and even rounds from the VC handguns was beyond useful.

"We leave in two hours, be ready!" the major barked causing the Marines to scramble about, getting their service pistols and finding the best way to conceal them.

_**JLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCM**_

April 29th, 1975, Forget-Me-Not-Valley

_April 29__th__, 1975,_

_ Dear Diary,_

_ Still no word from Jack about how he's doing. I also haven't seen anything on the news regarding the war and I've been watching it every day for the first time._

_ Scratch that, I did hear one thing about Vietnam, I heard President Ford saying how they were going to try to "evacuate Vietnamese citizens of various categories," whatever that means. Maybe Jack is a part of this evacuation plan._

_ Even the thought of him only having to evacuate citizens rather than see combat is rather comforting. _

_ Signed,_

_ Celia_

_**JLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCMJLCM**_

April 29th, 1975,

"Okay, we are no longer under the orders of Ambassador Martin, Operation: Frequent Wind has begun. Lance Corporal Logan, you and your fireteam are to cut down the trees preventing the parking lot from being used as an LZ. There should be an axe out back, now move out!" Major Kean shouted at Jack and his team.

Jack and his team gathered up their weapons and moved outside to the garden shed where Jack quickly found a double-bit felling axe.

"Any of you ever fell a tree before?" Jack said holding the axe out to his team members. One by one they shook their heads in negative response.

"Damn, I knew being a farmer would catch up with me one day," Jack muttered handing his M14 to Sam, "Take this kid, if the fighting gets hot you'll want a little more than the M3," Jack than went to work felling the trees in the parking lot, one by one he cut them down and moved them to the side. This process took a little more than two hours.

At seventeen hundred hours the first of many Sea Knights landed in the embassy parking bringing in more Marines and taking out civilians and embassy personnel.

Jack slung his M14 over his shoulder and looked into the sky. At that precise moment he realized, the Fall of Saigon had begun.


	5. The End and a New Beginning

**So this is the end of Whatever's Next but fear not readers Whatever's Next: Rewritten will being coming shortly!**

**I've made the decision to restart because I don't like how I started the story off. I feel like I needed to put more into it than I did.**

**Thank you all for reading this far. I will hopefully have the first chapter of WNR (Whatever's Next: Rewritten) up tomorrow after work. **


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